English Street work starts Monday

MAPLEWOOD — Spring is two weeks away but road construction season in the St. Croix Valley begins Monday at the Minnesota 36-English Street intersection.

And motorists will see MN 36 closed between White Bear Avenue and U.S. Highway 61 this summer as part of the construction of a diamond interchange at the busy Maplewood intersection.

The $17.3 million MN 36-English Street interchange is one of several projects affecting MN 36 in the east metro. Other work includes the start of a two-year project on MN 36 in Oak Park Heights that’s part of the Minnesota approach to the St. Croix Crossing bridge and another $13.8 million interchange project at MN 36 and Hilton Trail in Pine Springs just east of Interstate 694.

The English Street and Hilton Trail projects are designed to provide smoother travel on the eastern stretch of MN 36 approaching the new St. Croix River bridge.

Along with replacing the current traffic signal at MN 36 and English Street, the project includes improvements to to the County Road B-U.S. 61 intersection, removing current access to MN 36 at Hazelwood and Atlantic streets and replacing the Vento Trail pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

Phase one of the English Street project that starts Monday is MN 36 retaining wall construction.

Included in the English Street interchange project is a 75-day closure of MN 36 from mid-June to late August. State Department of Transportation officials said more information about that closure will be provided at a later date. English Street between Cope and Gervais avenues will also close from late June to late August.
MnDOT officials said the new English Street interchange would improve both safety and efficiency on MN 36 and pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

The majority of the English Street project is expected to be finished by late November, according to MnDOT officials. Remaining restoration and maintenance work and clean-up is expected to carry over to spring 2014.

MnDOT held an open house Tuesday in Maplewood to explain the English Street project to area residents.

The English Street work starts less than a month before work begins on MN 36, the north and south frontage roads in Oak Park Heights and MN 36 intersections at Greeley Street-Oakgreen Avenue and Osgood Avenue as part of the St. Croix River bridge project.

The local MN 36 project is expected to take two years to finish. MnDOT officials have said the bulk of the work will occur this year, with remaining work expected to finish in 2014.